Private sector access to shelf must await receipt of licenses by state cos - Donskoi
KIRKENES. June 4 (Interfax) - The Russian government will not for now return to the issue of private sector access to hydrocarbon development on the Russia shelf, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Sergei Donskoi told journalists.
The main offshore sections are currently being divided up between the two big state companies: Rosneft and Gazprom .
"As for the private sector companies, the issue will remain in the same mode it has been. Most likely there will be no return to this topic in the next few months. We are not discussing this topic," he said.
Donskoi said his ministry is currently engaged in preparing the state program for development of the shelf and is working up the issue of possibly permitting other state companies to operate on the shelf, particularly Zarubezhneft.
The forecasts for production from the shelf remain unchanged even though the majority of licenses have been issued and the state program has been updated, he said.
The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry forecast that Russia's shelf production would amount to 50 million-60 million tonnes of oil a year by 2030, a figure that Russian oil giant Rosneft says is "overstated."
